At long last, spring has arrived to stay
Yes, spring has made its much-delayed arrival in Minnesota. And it is not going away.
Ice has been melting out of area lakes.
Lawns in the Twin Cities have been turning green over the past couple days. Some trees are also showing hints of green. Forsythia are beginning to bloom. Rhubarb is growing rapidly. We even have a couple tulips getting ready to bloom in our south-facing garden.
May showers will bring more flowers
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Thunderstorms boomed across much of southern into central Minnesota late yesterday and overnight. My rain gauge in Minneapolis measured four-tenths of an inch of rain while greater amounts likely will be reported farther south.
Early this Wednesday morning, the last thunderstorms are exiting southeastern Minnesota around Winona.
Pleasant pattern setting up for most
While it is normal to wonder when the next Canadian outbreak will send our temperatures plunging and delay spring yet again, it will not happen this time. The last cold Canadian air is gone.
We should have high temperatures mainly in the 60s and 70s across the state for quite a few days coming up. Wednesday will warm mainly into the 60s around Minnesota. The Twin Cities should see a high in the upper 60s with light northwest winds. Some rain-free clouds will linger but with some partly sunny periods as well.
Serious storms are likely to develop well to our south across the middle of the country today. Severe thunderstorms are possible across a large area from Texas to southern Wisconsin. There will be the danger of flash flooding in Kansas and Missouri.
Storms developing into southern Minnesota on Thursday
Parts of mainly southern Minnesota are likely to experience another round of thunderstorms beginning Thursday afternoon. While the strongest part of that storm system will remain south of Minnesota, some heavy rain could soak mainly the southeastern corner of the state. The area around Winona, Caledonia, Lanesboro and Preston could pick up more than an inch of rain
Mostly dry starting Friday
Most of the weather from Friday well into next week should be quite delightful. One ripple in the pattern might trigger thunderstorms later on Saturday. Otherwise, the next week looks drier than normal for May.
